November 19, 2009
State environmental agency rejects request to repeal discharge ban
The state environmental office Wednesday denied a request to repeal a ban on the discharge of treated wastewater into the Highland Lakes, which serve as the prime recreation and water supply reservoirs in Central Texas. The decision, made at a meeting of the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, ends a public policy discussion that boiled down to water quality versus water quantity. Read full Statesman.com article here.
October 21, 2009
13 Million pounds of toxics discharged into Texas rivers and streams
Industrial facilities dumped 13 million pounds of toxic chemicals into Texas’ waterways in 2007, according to a report released today by Environment Texas: Wasting Our Waterways: Industrial Toxic Pollution and the Unfulfilled Promise of the Clean Water Act. The report also finds that toxic chemicals were discharged in 1,900 waterways across all 50 states. The information detailed in this report was compiled from the Environmental Protection Agency’s database on toxic release inventories. Read full media release here.
August 23, 2009
Our Water Supply, Down the Drain
In the United States, we constantly fret about running out of oil. But we should be paying more attention to another limited natural resource: water. A water crisis is threatening many parts of the country — not just the arid West. Read full article here.
August 4, 2009
Cypress Creek Project
The spring-fed Cypress Creek and surrounding Hill Country landscape is a unique and cherished natural system located in and around Wimberley, Texas. Learn about what’s being done to protect this resource, check out the latest Cypress Creek Project newsletter here.
June 8, 2009
The Back Porch – Water and wildlife in the marketplace
Texas contains nearly 200,000 miles of streams and rivers. Thirteen of the state’s 15 rivers flow through metropolitan areas supply-ing water for more than 22 million people. Twenty percent of those people depend on a single river: the Trinity. To supply water for people while balancing the needs for wildlife, positive things must happen on the landscape — 95 percent of which is in private hands. – Read full TPWD article here.
May 20, 2009
TPWD Hears about proposed permit to remove sand/gravel from Llano River
On May 12th, about three-dozen Llano County neighbors and their attorneys and consultants made the trip to Texas Parks and Wildlife Headquarters to discuss a proposed permit to remove sand and gravel from the Llano River. Joining them in Austin were several interested persons who offered insight into how a decision on this permit could shape state policy towards the management of rivers. Read full Llano News article here.
May 15, 2009
Silent Springs – is it too late to save Hill Country water?
Sixty feet below the shimmering surface of Jacob’s Well, an artesian spring that for thousands of years has pulsed iridescent blue-green water from the Trinity Aquifer to the surface, a sophisticated instrument measures the spring’s vital signs. The results are beamed almost instantaneously to the Internet. These days the gauge detects only the thinnest of pulses. Read the full Texas Observer article here.
March 1, 2009
Hydrologist concerned about effect of drought on Llano’s water supply
“In a called meeting following Monday’s Presidents’ Day holiday, the Llano City Council on Tuesday heard a report from local hydrologist Tyson Broad on how the current drought will continue to adversely affect the city’s water supply unless we receive more rain,” writes Dale Fry for the Bandera Bulletin. “Citing current stream flow figures, Broad expressed concern for the future of Llano’s water supply and recommended that the city begin now to determine at what point it should take steps to conserve its supply of the precious liquid.” Read the full Bulletin story here.
February 18, 2009
A Wrap-Up of Drought Conditions in Texas
“The River Systems Institute has prepared an overview of drought conditions in Central Texas from several sources. In summary, it appears difficult to compare the current situation to the 50s because of the duration of the 50s drought, and Central Texas did have rain in 2007. But although on a shorter time frame, this drought has been more severe than even portions of the 50s drought, especially in the Central Texas.” Read the full summary from the River Systems Institute at TSU here.
January 26, 2009
San Antonio Water System’s hopes evaporating
“The Colorado River may be drying up as a potential source of drinking water for San Antonio,” writes Jerry Needham for the San Antonio Express-News. “The San Antonio Water System is spending millions of dollars looking into bringing Colorado River water to the Alamo City, but scientific studies, and now maybe policy decisions by the board that oversees the river, continue to shrink the amount of water available and cause the estimated costs to skyrocket.” Read the full Express-News story here.